Stop blaming God for things

"In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God."      Job 1:22  NLT

When things begin to go wrong in our lives, it is so easy to blame others. This can be especially true as far as God is concerned. We may have prayed about a certain thing, but God, doesn't appear to have listened or done anything about it. Many times there is a tendency to blame other people for our bad choices. What may have seemed a good idea at the time, may have turned out bad and instead of looking at the one who made the choice - yourself, you can end up blaming others.

Job didn't do this and let's face it, He had more things happen to him than the average human being. He never once blamed God, in fact scripture tells us that:

'Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.' Job 1:20. Even though he had lost his wealth, children and his health, he would not blame God at all and felt that he must bow before the Lord to worship Him.

Job couldn't understand what was happening to him but he never once contemplated blaming God. He also never felt that this had happened because of his sin as three of his friends had mentioned. They were adamant that there was sin in his life that was the cause of all of this pain and suffering. They tried to persuade him to repent as his sin was the reason for all of this. But suffering is not always a direct result of personal sin. Satan was the cause of all of this and God allowed him to test Job's resilience and faithfulness. He did so and tried to drive a wedge between Job and God.

God does allow Satan to test us. And when he does, he uses his scheming and ability to convince us that someone else is the reason behind all of what has happened to us. You may have had this happen to you. It may very well be true that such a person is causing you so much pain but, Satan is the one that is behind it all. So be wise. 

When you find yourself in such a position, ask God if you are responsible for what is happening because of sin in your life. David had such a problem and wrote in Psalm 139:23-24:

'Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.'

This is a good way to clarify whether you are to blame for what has happened and it gives you the opportunity to put it right, if you are.

Just be aware that Satan doesn't like you. and when he sees you being successful for God, he will try and take you out. But don't lose your hope or your faith by worrying about it all. It is an attack from Satan's kingdom but is only temporary because he can't stand very long before God. So stand tall in the righteousness that Jesus has given you and you will come through this with victory.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now
Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

 

Jesus' love for me

"There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command."      John 15:13   NLT

This is one of the most astounding verses in the whole New Testament. Jesus' love for each one of us knows no end. God loves each one of us as He loves Him. (John 17:23). As we live our lives for Him He calls us His friend and we have the privileged position that He speaks to us and keeps us informed  about things.

This alone is amazing when you think that our government head's - King, Presidents, Prime Ministers etc share nothing with us and yet the King of kings is totally open about all, and let's us know all things. This is such a privilege. However, there is a condition: 'You are my friends if you do what I command' v14 which is understandable. 

The thing is, this condition must be adhered to. We can't be Jesus' friend if we obey one thing but refuse to consider and obey the next. It is an all or nothing condition. This doesn't mean that if we sin, we will lose His friendship. Not at all, He has already made provision for this in 1 John 1:9. 'But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.' It is the blatant ignorance of His Word and refusal to live by all He says that disqualifies us from the friendship that He offers.

I suppose that friendship can be classed as a person who is loyal and trustworthy to another. Someone who makes the other person feel safe and there is no ulterior motive behind this. Jesus is this and much, much more. His friendship is loyal and trustworthy and someone who makes you feel safe. There is no one like Him - anywhere. Therefore, why not learn to trust Him much more. He is to be trusted; one can tell Him anything and He will respect you with His faithfulness and kindness. He can also heal that hurting heart.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now
Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

 

That guilty feeling

"He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”                       Genesis 3:!0.  NLT

Guilt causes us to hide from God or from other people. Why? Because we usually know deep down that it was deliberate. Therefore, we carry a burden of condemnation around with us. But, if we have repented to God for something, then we are no longer condemned, but free. 

Romans 8:1-2:

1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

Did you get that? If you have repented then you are free from any charge. But there are other ways what people can do to make us feel guilty.

You may have a long term understanding with someone to do a particular job for you periodically. This arrangement is not a contract but an understanding. If you no longer wish for this to continue, it is your right to terminate this without acknowledgement. However, it may be kinder to let the person know that you are changing the arrangement for a particular reason. Now, normally, this may not cause any hardship but, if the arrange is built around a family, it may be kinder to let the person know to avoid them being hurt.

Terminating this arrangement can make you feel guilty whether you tell them or not. Whatever you do means you are in a Catch 22 - each comment will be received as a letdown. Should this bother us? Well, what would Jesus do here? Well for one thing He has business acumen, He knows how to discern things, whether right or wrong and if something is a bad deal or not. Also this arrangement is built upon reliance or trust, not a contract as mentioned earlier. What if, the shoe was on the other foot and they could no longer do it for you? Would they let you know or hide it until you mention it? The bottom line here though, is I feel Jesus would be honest and let them know instead of just dropping it on them.

And if you haven't done this, perhaps that is why you are feeling guilty. Food for thought!

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now
Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

He always was; He always is and He always will be!

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”       Revelation 4:8   NLT

Before I came to know Jesus, He was already there, I just didn't give Him the time of day. I may have called on Him in times of very great trouble but after this, I totally forgot about Him  But, He never forgot me. He has always been here, even though I never really knew that fact. Wherever I went, He was with me and He put up with all of my wrongdoings too. And, He will always be with me no matter what happens and one day, possibly soon, He is coming to take me to Himself in heaven.

The great thing about all of this, is that He has been the same way in your life and will be when the end of time comes upon us. I wonder what it will be like in heaven. It is something that we cannot get our head around. Many times in conversations, we may discuss what we will do, will we work? It is beyond our comprehension at this time but when our day comes, in the blink of an eye we will be with Jesus.

In the blink of an eye is probably a good way to describe it but, for many grieving families, the deceased is still with them on earth. They have died and been laid to rest whether by burial or cremation. However, the grieving person will continue to visit the grave side to be with their love one. But for the deceased, if they knew Jesus, they are in heaven, not in the grave.

It is difficult to understand it properly but, if we were to accept that time has stopped for the deceased, they are no longer here in this time frame. But, for the grieving people, time still carries on together with the pain that death brings to loved ones. When we die, we will also go to heaven and will meet again.

One thing is for certain, you will see Jesus and, you will also see those you knew and loved while you were on the earth. It will be a different setting of course, but a pleasant one, we believe. Until then, continue to believe that, Jesus always has been, He is now and He will come one day and we will spend eternity worshipping Him, along with our loved ones in heaven

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now
Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

Your Appraisal

23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.                           Psalm 139:23-24.    NLT

In many professional jobs these days, each person has an annual appraisal to see how they are getting on and, clarify if they have met objectives from the previous year. Thankfully God doesn't do this with His people but the above two verses are a similar thing that helps us to be focused on God and to have Him check where we may have gone wrong or, what needs to be changed.

God wants us to be transparent both with Him and the people we are with during our daily walk with Him. So therefore, one of the requirements is to ask Him to search us to check if there are ways within that need changing or sharpening. How would you rate your heart - your spiritual heart? What is in the heart comes out to others when we are with them. So, if you are carrying around bad feelings about something or someone, God will know of it and will help you change this. People hurt us that's true but, are you open to the fact that you also, may have hurt people and they are suffering from this?

It's not all about what people have done to you, but what you have have done to them. Do you need to put this right with someone? Anxiety causes us stress and can lead to anger. Our hearts send out signals to our minds which in turn process these signals and can lead us to want to get even with someone who has hurt us. The thoughts can be like a bitter root that if not attended to can cause upsets and bad feelings that can quickly end friendships, job positions and other relationships.

God wants to become involved in your life so much, that it can change things for the better. Without going into it deeply, we all know what needs to be changed within ourselves and God gives us the opportunity to approach Him and allow Him to help. It may be painful to face up to things. There may be deep-rooted stuff that your have tried to forget but they keep popping up. Whatever it is, why carry ithem around? Ask God to relieve you of this right now so that, His righteousness can shine through you once again.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now
Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

Miracle on the Lake

"That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. 18Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” 21Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!"                      John 6:16-21   NLT

Following the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Jesus was concerned that the crowd, who wanted Him as their own king, would take Him by force and the disciples would be hurt. He therefore slipped off into the hills and the disciples went to their boat to wait for Him. However, Jesus didn't show up so, they decided to set off to the other side of the lake as they knew Jesus have wanted them to do. 

When they were a good way across the lake, a storm blew up which grew very rough. They had rowed about 4 miles by this time but now, it was becoming impossible to do so. Suddenly, Jesus came walking on the water, silenced the waves and the storm and went to climb into the boat. Then the most amazing thing happened, they discovered that they immediately were at their destination.

Now this is where it becomes contentious and confusing. Some say that because they had rowed 4 miles, they would have been at the north side of the lake. This would mean that they had already arrived at their destination which would account for the fact that when Jesus was seen walking on the water, He was in fact, walking on the sea shore. Others say that because the boat would have been grounded on the shore that Jesus would not have had time to climb into the boat because, they were at there destination.

Whatever the explanation, Jesus fed The Five Thousand; He walked on the water and His intention to go over to the other side of the lake with His disciples was achieved. Life is always filled with people who want to scrutinise the truth and come up with their own theories. However, as far as I am concerned, everything I read about Jesus is the whole truth. Amen.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now
Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

Called to serve Jesus

 26Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me."    John 12:26.  NLT

Bibleref.com speaks on this verse":

'being a born-again believer in Jesus Christ means "dying" to one's self and self-interests (1 Corinthians 15:36–42; Romans 6:6–8). Those who resist that obedience are like a seed which is never planted; seeming to "live" but merely stagnating in a state of immaturity and barrenness (Mark 10:21–2.'     (Bible ref.com. John 12:26)

Many people, when they become a Christian, read this verse and believe God has called them to the ministry, to go to bible college or start their own church. This may be so but, not the minute they are born again. There is a time for each of us to settle into the Christian life and be nurtured in the faith. It can happen that God can call a person out and straightaway they give their job up and start serving Him. However, this is not often. They do need some training; but the thing they need to do more than anything else is, to die to self and rise in Jesus to a new life.

This verse is more about growing in Jesus. If Jesus has selected a person to 'follow' Him and serve Him full time, then Jesus has planted a seed and that seed must grow by being watered and fed in the word until it is ready for the harvest. And this is how it is with this verse. Yes, we may have heard about some people being called out to serve Jesus and straightaway have gone on to start an amazing ministry. The thing is, we only know a little; we don't know if the people had had bible training, been qualified already or what. All we know is what they have done. The Holy Spirit can pick someone and train them Himself and this must be amazing, but He requires each of us to die to self before anything else and then live for Jesus. This is the ultimate requirement.

So, if you feel you have a calling on your life, then ask Jesus to confirm it. Then speak to a trusted, Christian friend which may or may be not, your pastor. Take on board what is said, pray about it and then make a decision. If you are to be affective, then it takes time to build a soldier of Christ, so do what is needed and take it from there. But be patient

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now
Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.